Bridal Shoes

You need to decide which one you and alter the dress accordingly. If you choose to wear heels and get the dress altered for them, you will need to stay in the heels all night or your dress will drag and you and your guests will trip on it if you change into the sandals.

Can you find a super comfortable pair of block heels so you don't have to change shoes? Ive also seen brides who have their dress altered so it brushes the tops of their heels. You could do that so you can still change into sandals. I dont think it looks weird for some dresses, although there are certainly styles it would not work for. I can imagine big skirts or long trains would look really funky with a short hem.

My FBIL's wife switched out her shoes and had her dress altered to the height of her heels. She didn't notice the length after changing into flats. I really feel like this is all personal preference, and what style of dress you're choosing. ex. If you have a dress with a train, guests are going to accidentally step on it regardless of what shoes you're wearing.

If you don't want to risk it, or you think you'll be greatly bothered by the length after changing into sandals, I would suggest wearing a pair of block heels for the majority of the day around the house. You'll be able to tell whether they're comfortable enough to wear all day without having to change into sandals!

If you have a floor length dress it will be hemmed to a certain length and will end up being either too long or too short if you significantly change the heel height of your footwear. If you hem it to the height of your heels for the ceremony, it will then be too long when worn with flats and you'll risk stepping on your dress and ripping the fabric or grinding dirt into it or worse, tripping over it and potentially hurting yourself (and possibly still damaging your dress in the process). If hemmed to the height of your flats, it will look really awkward in heels.

If there is only a slight difference between the height of your shoes (say 1-1.5" max) this won't be such a big deal, but if there is much more than that the difference will be pretty obvious. Hemming to an intermediate length will give you the same problems (looks weird with heels, too long and a tripping hazard with flats) unless the heel heights are very close.

I bought my wedding dress pre-owned and it had been hemmed to a certain length already and I had the most difficult time finding shoes that were the right height. A 1.5" heel ended up being perfect, but that heel height is very uncommon so they were hard to find! I tried on several 2-2.5" heels (that heel height is a lot more popular) and felt they looked weird. The dress worked with flats (0.75-1" heel) but I had to "kick" my feet out as I walked to not step on the dress and the hem dragged on the ground and picked up all sorts of dirt and debris. I ended up going with a basic nude 1.5" block heel (our ceremony was outside on dirt, gravel, and grass) and they were perfect!

If you have an ankle length or shorter dress the change in heel height won't matter at all, although I find I prefer to wear tall heels with midi or knee length dresses because I feel like my legs look too stubby if I wear flats!

View Quoted Comment

Thanks! Thats a good idea of wearing the block heels around for a while to see if they are comfortable enough to last the whole day. I feel like I want to wear block heels and if my feet hurt I'll just suck it up and let my dress drag a little if it means being comfortable on my wedding night!

View Quoted Comment

Yea, I have a fuller skirt so I think that might look a little odd on my dress but I appreciate your suggestion!

View Quoted Comment

Thank you! I have a floor length dress so this does definitely help me because originally I was thinking of switching from heels to sandals but after reading this I really think I should stick to one. I guess I know I want to wear block heels but I am worried my feet will be hurting since I usually only wear wedges for special occasions/short periods of time. Thanks again!

View Quoted Comment

That's what I plan on doing haha!!

You can also try to find some platform sneakers or sandals to wear during the reception that match the height of the heels you're wearing during the ceremony so that your hem will match. This is my plan if I find that my heels are hurting too much.

View Quoted Comment

Thats so smart! I would have never thought of that!